Most large watercraft have a tender or dingy that is some how mounted to the watercraft that is used for moving people or various items to and from the watercraft. In general the tender or dingy can come in a variety of forms. They may be inflatable, motorized and in general are light weight. Depending on the weight of the tender they may be manually secured and raised onto the watercraft or they may be secured using some form of powered lifting mechanism. As the tender or dingy can come in a wide a variety of shapes and sizes, it is difficult to address all the different requirements for lifting, loading and securing the tender with ease, namely the weight of the tender or the presence of an outboard motor by way of example only. Furthermore depending on how the tender is secured to the watercraft, rough waves can actually lift the secured tender and may tear out the supporting struts of traditional platforms on the stern of the watercraft.
Prior art devices for loading and handling a tender for a watercraft have been devised to address the noted problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,587 issued on Jun. 10, 1997 to Klimowicz and relates to a watercraft carrier that is secured to a large watercraft having a transom. The carrier includes a mounting structure secured to the transom and a platform structure including a pair of laterally spaced platform units extending parallel to the transom and substantially in a horizontal plane above the water line of the large watercraft. The platform units each similarly include a support bar. A plurality of rollers are secured in longitudinally spaced relation along the bar. The rollers are formed of a resilient material or resiliently loaded to conform to the bottom of the personal watercraft. The personal watercraft has an inclined bow or front end and is self-propelled causing it to move upwardly out of the water onto the platform units in a highly safe and reliable procedure. Power is applied to the personal watercraft to move the hull upwardly on the entrance end and then the power is increased to cause the watercraft to move rapidly onto and in essence pop out of the water onto the platform units. The weight of the watercraft provides a firm support of the personal watercraft on the platform structure. Auxiliary securement lines may be interconnected between the personal watercraft and the larger watercraft.
Brown is the owner of U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,016 which issued on May 30, 1989 and this patent relates to a life raft deployment apparatus comprising a frame, a platform, and a life raft container receptacle. The platform is positioned within the frame and is movable between a life raft retention position and a life raft deployment position. The life raft receptacle receives containers of life rafts. The frame includes a first guide member and a second guide member which extend for the length of travel of the platform. The first guide member and the second guide member are parallel to each other. The frame further includes a stop at the ends of the travel of the platform. The platform includes a first angle member, a second angle member, and a plate extending between the angle members. The platform is mounted on a plurality of rollers. Lock members are included within the frame and the platform so as to fixedly maintain the platform in either the life raft retention position or the life raft deployment position.
Thus a device that handles, loads and secures a tender with ease, does not require the removal of the outboard motor, and is secured with is releasing assembly so as to avoid damage to watercraft is desirable.